Manual/Glossary
In this page we will try to briefly cover the terms players may find about OpenArena For a mapping-related specific glossary, please refer to Mapping manual/Appendix A: Glossary of terms. A * All Rockets mode - A game variant where all players only own the rocket launcher. * Arena(s) - Each match happens inside a closed map known as arena. The game comes with a number of stock maps, and many more can be downloaded. B * BFG or BFG10K - Projectile weapon which works like a super rocket launcher: quickly launches explosive bullets. Deadly, but rare. * Bot - A computer-controlled character, useful to play offline or when there are not enough human players on a server. C * Chaingun - Hitscan weapon, it's a gatling gun which fires at a much higher rate than the starting machinegun. Its ammo will not last long and its spread makes it not very adapt for long range. * Character(s) - Models and bots which are in the game. * '''Character model - The 3D model of a character, which can be used by players and bots. The same character model may use different skins. * Chat - The game allows to write text messages to all players or to the player of your own team ("team chat"). Also, some "voice chat" features are supported. * Chatfrag - When someone is writing a chat message or is in in-game menu, other players will see a "balloon" icon over his head. Killing someone while he's writing (and thus, cannot defend himself) is known a "chatfrag". Chatfragging is usually considered a not very polite action: if you see someone with a baloon over his/her head, it's kind to do not shoot at him. On the other hand, this should not be abused, so players shouldn't enter chat mode during a gunfight: in that case, they can expect to be gunned down without mercy. Note: bots do not seem too polite towards chatting people. * Cheat(s) and cheat-protected cvars - Special commands and variables available only after loading a map in "developer" mode (using devmap command). They allow things like being invulnerable (god), being incorporeal (noclip), get all weapons (give all), see through map geometry (r_showtris), etc. * Cheating - The act of exploiting the game to get unfair advantages against other players, through aimbots, wallhacks, etc. Doing that is a very bad and sad thing, which would ruin the game for everyone... including the cheater himself (where is the fun if the game aims and shoots in your place? Where is the satisfaction in arriving first, if you did it by cheathing? You didn't prove anything to yourself!). * Command Console, or Console - Powerful command-line user iterface, which allows to set tons of things using commands and variables (cvars). * CVAR(s) - Variables, which usually can be set through command console, which allow to control a lot of aspects of the game. D E F * FPS ** Frames Per Second - Also known as framerate, it can be controlled by com_maxfps cvar and can be shown on screen using cg_drawfps cvar. It's very advisable to set a framerate you machine can deliver constantly. See Framerate for more infos. There is also sv_fps cvar which sets how quickly the server does update the in-game world, but usually there is no need to tweak it. ** First Person Shooter - The kind of game OpenArena is. * Frag - In this game you have to shoot at and kill your enemies. Each kill a known as a "frag", and in some gametypes it is the most important score. * Fraglimit - In some gametypes, the match ends when a player reach the required number of frags, or "fraglimit" G * Gametype(s) - The main game modes, which define the objectives. Examples are Free For All, Capture the Flag, Last Man Standing, etc. * Gauntlet - Melee combat weapon. Requires no ammo. Used in small places or as a last resort. * Gib(s) - Pieces of meat that come out from bodies when shot. ** Gibbing - The act of destroying bodies by killing people hitting them hard enough or by shooting at corpses. * GPL, GPLv2, GPLv2+ - OpenArena is released under GNU General Public License v2. See also DeveloperFAQ#What about licensing?. The term "+" usually refers to the "either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version" phrase of the license. * Grappling hook or Grapple - Also known as hook, the grapple allows to reach places by attaching to walls. * Grenade launcher - A projectile weapon which fires explosive grenades which bounce on walls. H * Hitscan weapon - Also known as instant-hit weapon, it's a weapon which doesn't fire a projectile which travels around the arena and can be dodged: hitscan weapons immediately reach their target. * Hook - Also known as grapple, the hook allows to reach places by attaching to walls. I * Instagib or Instantgib - A game variant where you have the railgun only, and a single hit will kill any foe. * Instant-hit weapon - A synonym of hitscan weapon. It identifies the way weapons like machinegun and railgun work, with the shots immediately reaching their target. J K * Kill ** Synonym of "frag" - A point earned for killing someone. ** The command to commit suicide - In a few maps you may end up in places you cannot exit and killing yourself is the only solution. This will make you lose a "frag" from your score. About using the command to quickly restart with full health instead of searching for health bonuses around, or to "negate" a kill to your attacker when you are losing a gunfight, it's open to debate. Someone considers them, especially the first one, legit game strategies... someone considers them, especially the second one, not polite actions, almost cheating. L * Lightning gun - Hitscan weapon which quickly fires a ray of energy, up to medium range. M * Machinegun - Hitscan weapon. As a starting weapon, it's not very powerful, but effective at both close and long range and adapt to finish already weakened opponents. * Model - A 3D model; usually refers to character models, which are used by players and bots. The same character model may use different skins. N * Nailgun - Projectile weapon which fires a cloud of nails. Extremely deadly at close range, works up to medium range. O * OA - Short for OpenArena, the game. * OA3 - The planned content reboot of OpenArena. * OAX - OpenArena eXpanded, OpenArena eXpansion, the development version of the gamecode. P * Plasma gun - Projectile weapon which quickly fires plasma balls. * Projectile weapons - Weapons which fire projectiles which travel through the map and, depending from the distance and other factor, may be dodged. Opposed to hitscan wepons. * Proximity mines launcher - Projectile weapon which fires adhesive mines, which detonate after sensing an enemy near. Q * Quake III ARENA or Q3A - A fist person shooter game by id Software. OpenArena is a free clone of Quake 3, based upon its source code, which has been released under GPL license. R * Railgun - An hitscan wepon, adapt for long range sniping. Leaves a colored trail. * Rocket launcher - A projectile weapons which fires explosive rockets. S * Shader - A script which defines look and properties of a surface. Loads and mixes textures (images) in different ways, sets objects as solid, water, lava, etc. * Shotgun - An hitscan weapon, effective at close range, but almost useless at long range. * Skin - Cosmetic variation of the textures (usually colors) of a character model. Usually, models come with at least three skins (default, red, blue). T * Texture - An image placed on the surface of a graphic object. Can be used in shaders. * Timelimit - A match may end after the number of minutes specified by "timelimit" U V * Variables - Also known as CVARs, variables can usually set through command console, which allow to control a lot of aspects of the game. W * Weapons - The game features projectile wepons, hitscan (instant-hit) weapons and a melee weapon. X Y Z See also * Manual * Mapping manual/Appendix A: Glossary of terms Category:Manual